-The Barna Group.
For decades the primary way that Americans have experienced and
expressed their faith has been through a local church. That
reality is rapidly changing, according to researcher George Barna,
whose new book on the transitioning nature of America's spirituality,
entitled 'Revolution', describes what he believes will be the most
massive reshaping of the nation's faith community in more than a
century.
Relying upon national research conducted over the past several years,
Barna profiles a group of more than 20 million adults throughout the
nation labeled 'revolutionaries'. He noted that although measures of
traditional church participation in activities such as worship
attendance, Sunday school, prayer, and Bible reading have remained
relatively unchanged during the past twenty years, the Revolutionary
faith movement is growing rapidly. "These are people who are less
interested in attending church than in being the church," he explained.
"We found that there is a significant distinction in the minds of many
people between the local church - with a small 'c' - and the universal
Church - with a capital 'C'. Revolutionaries tend to be more focused on
being the Church, capital C, whether they participate in a
congregational church or not."
"A common misconception about revolutionaries," he continued, "is that
they are disengaging from God when they leave a local church. We found
that while some people leave the local church and fall away from God
altogether, there is a much larger segment of Americans who are
currently leaving churches precisely because they want more of God in
their life but cannot get what they need from a local church. They have
decided to get serious about their faith by piecing together a more
robust faith experience. Instead of going to church, they have chosen
to be the Church, in a way that harkens back to the Church detailed in
the Book of Acts."
BIG CHANGES in the MAKING
One of the most eye-opening portions of the research contained in the
book describes what the faith community may look like twenty years from
now. Using survey data and other cultural indicators he has been
measuring for more than two decades, Barna estimates
that the local church is presently the primary form of faith experience
and expression for about two-thirds of the nation's adults. He projects
that by 2025 the local church will lose roughly half of its current
'market share' and that alternative forms of faith experience and
expression will pick up the slack. Importantly, Barna's studies do not
suggest that most people will drop out of a local church to simply
ignore spirituality or be freed up from the demands of church life.
Although there will be millions of people who abandon the entire faith
community for the usual reasons - hurtful experiences in churches, lack
of interest in spiritual matters, prioritizing other dimensions of
their life - a growing percentage of church dropouts will be those who
leave a local church in order to intentionally increase their focus on
faith and to relate to God through different means. That growth is
fueling alternative forms of organized spirituality, as well as
individualized faith experience and expression. Examples of these new
approaches include involvement in a house church, participation in
marketplace ministries, use of the Internet to satisfy various
faith-related needs or interests, and the development of unique and
intense
connections with other people who are deeply committed to their pursuit
of God.
SEVEN PASSIONS of the REVOLUTIONARY
In the effort to increase their obedience and faithfulness to God,
Barna discovered that Revolutionaries are characterized by what he
identified as a set of spiritual passions - seven specific emphases
that drive their quest for God and a biblical lifestyle. Although these
are areas of spiritual development that most local churches address,
millions of adults who are the most serious about their faith in God
were the ones least likely to be satisfied by what their local church
was delivering in terms of resources, opportunities, evaluation and
developmental possibilities. The consequence is that millions of
committed born again Christians are choosing to advance their
relationship with God by finding avenues of growth and service apart
from a local church.
Asked if this meant that the Revolution he describes is simply a
negative reaction to the local church, he suggested that most
Revolutionaries go through predictable phases in their spiritual
journey in which they initially become dissatisfied with their local
church experience, then attempt to change things so their faith walk
can be more fruitful. The result is that they undergo heightened
frustration over the inability to introduce positive change, which
leads them to drop out of the local church altogether, often in anger.
But because this entire adventure was instigated by their love for God
and their desire to honor Him more fully, they finally transcend their
frustration and anger by creating a series of connections that allow
them to stay close to God and other believers without involvement in a
local church.
One of the hallmarks of the Revolution of faith is how different it is
for each person. "It would be wrong to assume that all Revolutionaries
have completely turned their back on the local church," the researcher
stated. "Millions of Revolutionaries are active in a local church,
although most of them supplement that relationship with participation
in a variety of faith-related efforts that have nothing to do with
their local church. The defining attribute of a Revolutionary is not
whether they attend church, but whether they place God first in their
lives and are willing to do whatever it takes to facilitate a deeper
and growing relationship with Him and other believers. Our studies
persuasively indicate that the vast majority of American churches are
populated by people who are lukewarm spiritually. Emerging from those
churches are people dedicated to becoming Christ-like through the
guidance of a congregational form of the church, but who will leave
that faith center if it does not further such a commitment to God. They
then find or create alternatives that allow that commitment to
flourish."
How do most Revolutionaries justify calling themselves devoted
disciples of Christ while distancing themselves from a local church?
"Many of them realize that someday they will stand before a holy God
who will examine their devotion to Him. They could take the
safe and easy route of staying in a local church and doing the expected
programs and practices, but they also recognize that they will not be
able to use a lackluster church experience as an excuse for a mediocre
or unfulfilled spiritual life. Their spiritual depth is not the
responsibility of a local church; it is their own responsibility. As a
result, they decide to either get into a local church that enhances
their zeal for God or else they create alternatives that ignite such a
life of obedience and service. In essence, these are people who have
stopped going to church so they can be the Church."
CHALLENGES and OPPORTUNITIES
While the Revolution brings with it some very promising qualities - an
intense pursuit of godliness, new networks of believers supporting each
other, heightened financial giving to ministry endeavors, greater
sensitivity to the presence of God in the world, a greater sense of
freedom to be a genuine disciple in the midst of a secular society -
Barna also pointed out that the Revolution brings great challenges to
those who choose that pathway.
"There is the danger of exposure to unbiblical or heretical teaching.
There is the possibility of experiencing isolation from a true
community of believers and the accountability and support that can
provide. It could become easier to hoard one's treasures rather than
giving generously. Some might find it more difficult to sustain a life
of worship without a place or means of expressing that praise to God."
Barna contends that these are very serious challenges faced by
Revolutionaries - but that they are no more serious than the threats to
the spiritual health of regular church-goers. "Objectively speaking,
these are the very same problems that we identify among people who rely
upon the efforts of a local church to facilitate their growth. We find
plentiful evidence of unbiblical teaching in small groups, Sunday
school classes and other local church venues. We know that few churched
Christians give 4% of their income back to God, much less 10%. We
recognize that most people attending worship services in a church
sanctuary leave feeling that God was not present and that they did not
personally connect with the living God through that experience.
We have identified the relative absence of accountability within most
congregations. So even though Revolutionaries face serious challenges
in blossoming into the fervent God-follower they hope to become,
perhaps the main difference is simply that they have a wider range of
options for achieving their faith goals than do people who are solely
focused on faith delivered through a local church. In either case, it
is ultimately up to the individual to make sure that they have their
spiritual priorities right, that they are investing themselves in
activities that draw them closer to God, and that they stay focused on
pleasing God more than themselves or other people."
The explosion of Revolutionaries in the U.S., however, raises new
challenges for people involved in ministry. "This new movement of God
demands that there be new forms of leadership to appropriately guide
people in their faith journey," Barna said. "It requires new ways of
measuring how well the Church at-large is doing, getting beyond
attendance figures as the indicator of health. And it demands that new
tools and resources be accessible to a growing contingent of people who
are seeking to introduce their faith into every dimension of their
life."
AN INTRODUCTION to the REVOLUTION
Having written three-dozen previous books about faith and culture,
Barna feels that this book may ultimately wind up being the most
significant volume he has written. In the course of doing his customary
national research studies, he stumbled onto the Revolution. "Having
been personally frustrated by the local church, I initiated several
research projects to better understand what other frustrated followers
of Christ were doing to maintain their spiritual edge. What emerged was
a realization that there is a large and rapidly-growing population of
Christ-followers who are truly want to be like the church we read about
in the book of Acts. We began tracking their spiritual activity and
found that it is much more robust and significant than we ever imagined
- and, frankly, more defensible than what emerges from the average
Christian church. But, because the Revolution is neither organized nor
designed to create an institutional presence, it typically goes
undetected."
Revolution, published by Tyndale House, is what the author calls "a
brief introduction to the most important spiritual movement of our
age." He believes that fifty years from now historians will look back
at this period and label it one of the most significant periods in
American Church history. "I would not be surprised," the
California-based researcher noted, "if at some point this becomes known
as the Third Great Awakening in our nation's history. This spiritual
renaissance is very different from the prior two religious awakenings
in America, but it may well become the most profound."
LINK:
http://www.barna.org
